Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of headsman
Two other men, subjects of excellent Holbein drawings in the show, would keep appointments with the headsman.
—
Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022
Even if your reality is the headsman’s block!
—Helen Shaw, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2021
Once upon a time, the queen could have sent rebels to the Tower and the headsman’s block, even relatives—especially relatives.
—Matt Seaton, The New York Review of Books, 9 Mar. 2021
The British prime minister has assembled a trio of headsmen to sever Britain from the mainland.
—Vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, 22 Mar. 2017
Several other leading figures of the period ended their days on the executioner’s block, including the unhappy Comte de Chalais, whose headsman bungled the job and ended up frantically chopping away at his screaming victim with a small hatchet.
—David A. Bell, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2012
Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022
Even if your reality is the headsman’s block!
—Helen Shaw, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2021
Once upon a time, the queen could have sent rebels to the Tower and the headsman’s block, even relatives—especially relatives.
—Matt Seaton, The New York Review of Books, 9 Mar. 2021
The British prime minister has assembled a trio of headsmen to sever Britain from the mainland.
—Vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, 22 Mar. 2017
Several other leading figures of the period ended their days on the executioner’s block, including the unhappy Comte de Chalais, whose headsman bungled the job and ended up frantically chopping away at his screaming victim with a small hatchet.
—David A. Bell, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2012
Recent Examples of Synonyms for headsman
Noun
-
That's not the executioner — that's me without a head.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Oct. 2025
-
The Owensboro news media and some white onlookers insist that when the lady sheriff didn’t show up to act as executioner, there was anger in the press’s unmet expectations, which then was taken out on the crowd, with the reporters lying about the audience’s unruly behavior.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Eleven white men stood on the gallows with him—the hangman, the trigger-puller, officers of the law, the priest.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
-
At the end of long days, Banjo would bring his kids to the office, and the group — Kotwica, Banjo and the kids — would play games of hangman on the greaseboard.—
Zack Rosenblatt,
New York Times,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
If the tenant died without an executor, a personal or court-appointed representative will handle the estate.—
Lew Sichelman,
Miami Herald,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Contact information for executor Include names, current addresses and Social Security numbers of all people named in the estate documents and contact information for your estate attorney and CPA.—
Jill Schlesinger,
Mercury News,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
That case went cold as the murderers were never caught.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
-
The place is the Savin Bar + Kitchen, in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, where immediately inside the front door, patrons are greeted by a larger-than-life framed mugshot of Bulger — the mob-boss, murderer, bank robber, drug dealer and extortionist — peering cooly out from under his fedora.—
Tovia Smith,
NPR,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Headsman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headsman. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share